The Favourite is the favourite as the list of nominations for the 2018 British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs) was announced yesterday. See the full list...
Yorgos Lanthimos’s black comedy about the 18th century court of Queen Anne boasts 13 nominations as it is recognised for Best British Independent Film, Best Director sponsored by Broadsword Event House and Best Screenplay sponsored by BBC Films. Olivia Colman is nominated for Best Actress sponsored by MAC, with her co-stars in the female-led ensemble, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz, competing in the Best Supporting Actress category, Weisz also receives a Best Actress nomination for Sapphic drama Disobedience.

The Favourite also sweeps the technical categories, newly introduced for the 2017 awards, with nominations for seven of the nine awards, including Best Production Design, Best Cinematography supported by Blackmagic Design, Best Make-up & Hair Design and Best Costume Design.

The broad recognition for American Animals (with 11 nominations) and You Were Never Really Here (with 8 nominations) marks the return of previous award winners, writer-directors Lynne Ramsay and Bart Layton. Layton won Best Debut Director for his documentary The Imposter in 2012 and his true-crime heist drama American Animals secures him nominations for Best Director and for both Best Screenplay and Debut Screenwriter. The film sees Evan Peters and Barry Keoghan compete in the Best Supporting Actor category, marking their first BIFA nominations. Ramsay continues her long association with BIFA, with her third nomination for Best Screenplay and her second for Best Director, following past recognition for Ratcatcher, Morvern Callar and We Need To Talk About Kevin. Joaquin Phoenix secures his second BIFA Best Actor nomination for his role as a tortured hitman in the psychological noir thriller, with Jonny Greenwood and Tom Townend being recognised for Best Music sponsored by Universal Music Publishing Group and Best Cinematography respectively.

Following a breakout year for British directorial debuts at the 2017 awards, this year’s nominations list continues the trend with acclaim for Michael Pearce’s romantic thriller Beast (garnering 10 nominations) and Daniel Kokotajlo’s Apostasy (with 6 nominations), a sensitive drama set within the Jehovah’s Witness community. In addition to its Best British Independent Film nomination, Beast receives nods for Pearce in all directing and screenwriting categories: Best Director, Best Screenplay, Debut Screenwriter and The Douglas Hickox Award for Best Debut Director sponsored by Kodak & Pinewood. Lead Jessie Buckley receives nominations for both Best Actress and Most Promising Newcomer, alongside Apostasy’s Molly Wright who also receives nods in both categories. Kokotajlo features alongside Pearce with nominations for Best Debut Director and Debut Screenwriter.

Joe Cole (A Prayer Before Dawn), Rupert Everett (The Happy Prince) and Charlie Plummer (Lean on Pete) all feature in the Best Actor category as first time BIFA nominees, alongside Steve Coogan (Stan & Ollie) and Joaquin Phoenix. Gemma Arterton (The Escape) and Maxine Peake (Funny Cow) round out the Best Actresscategory with Peake making her debut on the list.

The Richard Harris Award and The Variety Award are to be announced in November. The Richard Harris Award, introduced in 2002 in honour of Richard Harris, recognises outstanding contribution to British Film by an actor. Previous winners have been Daniel Day Lewis, Julie Walters, John Hurt, Emma Thompson and Vanessa Redgrave in 2017. The Variety Award recognises a director, actor, writer or producer who has made a global impact and helped focus the international spotlight on the UK. Past winners include Kate Winslet, Richard Curtis, Benedict Cumberbatch, Sir Michael Caine and Dame Helen Mirren.

Over 140 British films were submitted for consideration and 37 different British feature films have been nominated across the BIFA categories. Winners will be announced at the British Independent Film Award Ceremony on Sunday 2nd December at Old Billingsgate

Here's the full list of nominations, along with the ones that Susan Omand thinks will win. She will, of course, be completely wrong.